Alchemy in Audio

I've been lucky enough to be interviewed in a handful of podcasts mostly discussing the local improv theater that I run. If you'd like to get a better idea of how it works and my personal vision for it, here are a few options:

• There It Is: "Harrison talks with Jason about improv, his time at Clemson University and in Chapel Hill, NC at DSI, starting the Alchemy Comedy Theater, juggling running a theater with his other part-time job, and the New South Comedy Festival"
• Improv in Action: "Sebastian and Jim sit down with Harrison Brookie of Alchemy Comedy Theater and discuss what it is to run an improv theatre in Greenville SC."
• Stories of the Upstate: About my younger days as a "lovable little buddy as a teen, pretty irresponsible and pretty fun" and how that led to opening a comedy theater.
• Greenville Comedy Marathon Panel:  "Part of the Greenville Comedy Marathon, an annual marathon put on by Alchemy Comedy. It was moderated by Alchemy Artistic Director, Harrison Brookie, and features Meg Pierson, Todd Janssen, Tom Emmons, Traysie Amick, and Carrie Adams!"

Bonus non-improv topic with improv people... I Was Just About to Say That: "This week we have an equally educational and enjoyable episode with a very special guest, Harrison Brookie, who is a local high school teacher and improviser extraordinaire. We're talking the top 5 US presidents with the first name James."

Why There's Less Conservatives in Comedy (and More in Radio)

First, why talk radio appeals to conservatives:

liberals and conservatives seemed to have different aesthetic tastes. Conservatives seemed to prefer stories with clear-cut endings. Liberals, on the other hand, had more tolerance for a story like public radio’s Serial, which ends with some uncertainty and ambiguity. 

[...] 

As Young noticed, this is a kind of ambiguity that liberals tend to find more satisfying and culturally familiar than conservatives do. In fact, a study out of Ohio State University found that a surprising number of conservatives who were shown Colbert clips were oblivious to the fact that he was joking. In contrast, conservative talk radio humor tends to rely less on irony than straightforward indignation and hyperbole.

Conservatives often like to shoot straight and explain how things are. Which helps explain why liberals are drawn to comedy and satire:

the genre has always been aimed at taking down the powerful, from the Revolutionary War through Vietnam and 9/11. “Conservatism supports institutions and satire aims to knock these institutions down a peg,”

Conservatives want to "conserve", often skeptical of change. This makes them more loyal to traditional institutions. These, by there nature of being the "establishment", are open to attacks to keep their power in check. The whole article is insightful and I highly recommend it.

NPR and Improv Meet where Relationships and Comedy Meet

Here is a great discussion from my old stomping grounds in North Carolina. Makes me miss WUNC a good bit. Makes me miss DSI Comedy a great bit.

Slimprov: Two Half Men Make a Full Stage

One of my more fun sets in a while on tape. Two men. 1 scene. 24 minutes.

AlchemyComedy.com

Improv Show with 30 Rock's Scott Adsit

The folks at the Charleston Comedy Festival were kind enough to ask me to perform in their All Star shows this year. Here's a clip:

Doritos Crash the Super Bowl Ad Contest

A local video production company and I recently entered the annual Doritos contest and made it to the top 40 videos. Go here to vote for my video entitled "Triple Play".

You Can’t Make This Stuff Up

Here's a short film I helped create, write, and acted in. It's a long awaited revelation that all improvised comedy is actually written, rehearsed, and performed from a script.


I'll let you figure the truth out for yourself.

Cheating Game Theory on a Game Show

One of my favorite past blog posts was the one picked up by the New York Times' Freakonomics blog. It was about the economics of the game show finale of the Bachelor Pad. I then revisited the idea mentioning another reality TV show Golden Balls. It's a British show where at the end the two contestants have to decided whether to split or steal the money. Recently, a contestant played it a little differently:

Alchemy's TEDx Improv Performance

A month ago I mentioned an upcoming performance at Greenville TEDx. The show came and went and it was incredible. I can honestly say it is one of my top performance achievements. You may have to watch the other talks of the day in order to fully appreciate it. Enjoy the show!

New Baby New Blog

That's right, my wife and I are having a baby! And here's the most recent post from my new baby blog, written from the perspective of the main character:

It's official, I'm a boy or girl! You'll have to solve this word problem to find out which: 

I'm the most popular baby in the world. I charge the minimum wage in 1994 (in 1996 dollars) per hour to be baby-sat before midnight. But I get a dollar more per hour if you keep me up later. Last Friday, I earned $28.50 for being baby-sat by the neighbors until 1:30am. What time did I start? 

If it's before 8pm I'm a girl. After 8pm I'm a boy. Good luck!

And here's the first heartbeat and ultrasound!

Holiday Card from a Reader

By listening to my holiday advice on getting people exactly what they ask for he got me just what I asked for. From Justin from here.

Legality of Santa Clause

Santa's not real. If you're reading this and you didn't know that, I'm sorry. In fact, if you're reading at all and you didn't know that, I'm very sorry. But if Santa was real, would he be an international criminal?:

I. Trespass and Consent  

At first glance it might seem that Santa Claus is liable in tort and criminal law for trespass, but the homeowner’s consent negates both charges. Sending letters to Santa, hanging stockings with care, setting out milk and cookies, and the like are all clear manifestations of consent for Santa Claus to enter one’s home and deposit presents (or coal, as the case may be). Indeed I suspect it would be quite difficult to find someone who received a present from Santa Claus yet could honestly claim that he or she did not consent to its delivery. 

II. Airspace Restrictions 

Another potential problem with Santa, as with many superheroes, is the issue of air travel regulations. In Santa’s case however, the fact that he is tracked by NORAD suggests that he has clearance from the US and Canadian militaries to travel through US and Canadian airspace essentially unrestricted. 

III. Customs and Immigration 

Santa may be cleared to travel through US and Canadian airspace, but what about entering the countries in the first place? As it turns out, Canada has extended Canadian citizenship to Santa Claus, so the answer is trivial for Santa’s travels through Canada. Furthermore, as a Canadian citizen his entry into the US is fairly straightforward because he’ll only be in the country for a few hours; there is no need for a special visa. One brief stop at a border crossing when he enters the US is all he needs. If he can visit millions of homes around the world in one night, that small delay is unlikely to present a problem. 

Customs is a bit trickier as Santa Claus ordinarily would have quite a lot to declare. It seems clear, though, that Santa does not actually physically possess all of the presents to be delivered in his sleigh (obviously that would be impossible!). Instead his sack of toys functions as a kind of teleportation device, allowing him to pull out presents as needed, as depicted in this well-known documentary. That would seem to neatly skirt the problem of filling out the world’s longest customs form.

Though he may be breaking some European labor laws:

One More Reason to Get a Real Tree

As I am unable to get a tree this year (can't have a tree without a home), I can be comforted that no tree may be better than a fake tree:

In 1930 the U.S.-based Addis Brush Company created the first artificial Christmas tree made from brush bristles. The company used the same machinery that it used to manufacture toilet brushes. The trees were made from the same animal-hair bristles used in the brushes, save they were dyed green.

Night Owls are Smarter

Here's the proof. Though I have to be up in 6 1/2 hours and don't feel to smart right now.

Maybe I'll just take a nap.

Andy Rooney on Andy Rooney on Shoes

Just so you don't think I'm an Andy Rooney fan, here's a great SNL spoof from the 80's:



Now here's the real Andy Rooney from 2006:

Enterprise Car Rental, A Personal Story

It takes a lot to convince me that business is the problem, but it happens. It happened again.

In September I got rear ended on the highway. The road was slick, the car in front of me slammed on their breaks and I did the same. The poor fellow behind me didn't stand much of a chance. He hit me so hard I slid into the car in front of me. Thankfully no one was hurt, everyone was polite, and the officer didn't fine me for a expired licence plate (how do you get a new tag when you don't technically don't have a home address?).

Then came the aftermath. My car was badly damaged but somehow still driveable. I was notified by the other driver's insurance company that I would have to take the car to them to get the damage estimated and to get a car rental voucher. Soon I'd dropped my car off at the body shop and was picked up at Enterpise Rent-A-Car. Here's what they gave me:

If there was ever hope for American car dealers, this vehicle killed it. It's a Chevrolet HHR. Luckily they also left me with a fourth-a-tank of gas. After a week I got a call from Enterprise saying that my last day with the car will be coming up and that I will need to return it. I then called the body shop who informed me that it would be several weeks before they would be done. I informed Enterprise that the voucher should be good for as long as my car was in the shop. They told me I have to contact the insurance company.

Every week I would have to do this dance. Enterprise calls me. I call the body shop. Body shop confirms the time frame they originally gave me. I'd call the other driver's insurance company. They'd call Enterprise. And each week I got gas I couldn't fill up because I was never sure when I would need to return the car to it's original 1/4 tank. After a few weeks I insisted Enterprise just call the insurance company and stopped answering their calls. They continued to call.

After a $37 charge popped up on my card, for what I haven't figured out yet, I called, assured them the voucher was still good and asked them to remove the fee. Which they did after two more reminders. Last week, to top off the great service I'd received, my American-made-PT Cruiser-wanna be broke down. I called the Enterprise office who then told me to call their roadside assistance. After over an hour of waiting they sent someone to jump the battery. It didn't work.

The mechanic leaves and tells me to call Enterprise again. They tell me to wait there for another hour for a tow truck. I tell them the keys will be in the seat and get my brother-in-law to drive me to dinner and a basketball game, then to the Enterprise office to get another car. On the way I call them to confirm I'm coming and they tell me my car has not been towed yet (which I know it has) and can't give me a car.

I show up anyways and explain to them that I have no vehicle because the one they gave me broke down and was towed. I beg them to call the roadside assistance. They do. After 20 minutes on hold they find someone who can confirm my other car has been towed. After giving me a minivan (nicer than my old one granted) then informed me that I should return the car tomorrow to their Wade Hampton branch and that my car will be fixed.

Apparently Wade Hampton is a really long road. Apparently Wade Hampton has an east and west side where the numbers change. Apparently an hour and a half is not long enough to allocate to get somewhere that closes when you apparently don't know where you're going. So I dropped the car off at the body shop, and said good riddance to bad rentals.

Enterprise, they'll pick you up, then let you down.

Are Men Funnier Than Women?

Nope:

Scientists had 16 male and 16 female subjects write funny captions for 20 New Yorker magazine cartoons in 45 minutes. Then the captions were rated by a different group of 34 male and 47 female subjects. Men’s captions rated higher on average than women’s captions. But only by a mere 0.11 points out of perfect score of 5.0.

Unless you count this:

Maybe men just make more attempts at humor. For example, fewer women win the New Yorker caption contests, but fewer enter. When women do enter, however, they tend to win with fewer attempts compared to men.

Did I mention I teach comedy classes? Men and women accepted of course.

Emptying the Bottle: Mid-October '11 Links

Here is a list of the worthwhile links I've Bookmarked recently:

• Justin makes a creepy face mash-up with his sister.
• "Drive Recklessly" commercial [video].
•  The Onion depressing/funny on Civil Rights legislation [video].
• Atheism, libertarianism, and the difference between skepticism and cynicism [video].
• Clemson is in the top 10 for fan size [graphic].
• Maybe the saddest news I've heard about the Great Recession.
• From me: Difference Between an Expert and a Novice.
• Amish mob violence or a ride-by-shaving.
• Online game for people with OCD?
• Online dating that simultaneously intrigues me economically and sickens me relationally.
• You can scroll through Google Reader with the space bar!

As always, feel free to email me anything interesting you come across.

Multiple Choice Question Paradox

From The American Pageant textbook:

Blockbuster's Future, A Guest Story

Despite my warnings, my wife recently visited Blockbuster. This is her story:

Her: (After picking up the last disc of Mad Men season 4, she walked up to line. A couple minutes go by.)

Another customer: Why are there 4 employees and only 1 register open? Why you make us all wait like that?

Employees: Sorry sorry sorry (as 1 more register was opened and the old crotchety man was helped. But then that new register was closed once he was helped. Eventually my wife got to the front of the line with cash in hand.)

Employee: Oh your paying with cash. We'll have to go to another register. (They move to another register.)

Employee: Is this Blockbuster card new?

Her: No. It's pretty old. I got it when I lived in Clemson.

Employee: Oh, the nationwide system can't read this.

Her: Can I give you a phone number?

Employee: We don't do that anymore. Do you have card for your license number?

Her: I don't know. I just want to rent this.

Employee: Well let's try that (she tries to run her licence number). Nope that doesn't work. Would like to fill out the paperwork for a new card?

Her: I already have a card. I just want to rent this.

Employee: Well let's try that card again. Oh here it is! But this says it's for Harrison Brookie?

Her: Yes he's my husband. I can call and get his licence number.

Employee: No, it has to be you.

Her: [sigh] I just want to rent this...

Employee: Okay (somehow her card magically works now).